I have scoured various threads on this subject and most seem to date back to 2008. I know water quality management technology changes constantly. We are now parked and will be parked for 1 year at a spot that has some super hard water with lots o iron in it. We've been here 4 days and already have this:

Sorry for the nast picture. That toilet is sparkling. We keep it that way...with the exception of the instant iron buildup. This is starting to seriously bother us. We need a solution. I've checked out "On-The-Go" and RV Water Filtration Systems mobile water softeners. They look great, but I want another opinion. We have an RO system for our refrigerator drinking water...but that system is turned off while we're deciding how to soften the water. I don't want to clog the membranes. We are not connected fulltime cause it's winter...so we fill our 100 gallon fresh tank every few days from a hose that we retract. So any solution that requires major backwashing is not practical for us. What say you? Nick, can you chime in? I know you have some cool something on your rig...Everpure???

Just got off the phone with a gentleman at Doulton...he seemed confused and not super studied on their systems. He at first told me the RIF-10 system would work for us...then he said since we have Iron we needed to oxidize it before the water went through the RIF-10 system...so I asked if that meant we needed a water softener...he said "no" just buy the FSC3 unit which provides saltless scale removal and water conditioning. So I said "that's all I need? Those two units?" then he said "no" the FSC3 won't remove iron...so I said "then I need a water softener?" he said "no"...now I'm on hold.

Scott Probably the easiest Way to handle things is just install a small filter with a polyphosphate cartridge In most cases that will bined the iron so it doesn't cause a problem. What I think the guy from Dalton was trying to explain Is ferric or ferrous iron. If the water is clear the iron is dissolved in the water and can only be removed with a water softener ion xchange ( clear water iron) if the water is orange it can be filtered out with a filter so to cover both put a filter and then followed with a polyphosphate in most cases that will help a lot

PCC Series cartridges contain foodgradehexametaphosphate thatdissolves slowly in water to inhibitscale and rust build-up.This type of treatment isrecommended for use with icemachines, coffee and vendingmachines, food service equipment,water heaters, air conditioningequipment and many other types ofwater processing equipment.To best meet your needs, cartridgesare available in four feeder sizes andall materials are FDA grade.They are effective for treating scale,corrosion and iron problems for upto six months at various flow ratesand feed concentrations.The PCC212 and PCC218cartridges are designed to fit #10Standard or Slim Lineฎ filterhousings.The PCC106 is an insert elementthat is placed in the center core ofthe cartridge. It is designed for usewith standard 10" and 20" radialflow, sediment and carbon blockfilter cartridges.PCC SERIES HEXAMETAPHOSPHATECRYSTAL CARTRIDGES Effective for treating scale, corrosion and iron problems Ideal for a variety of food service equipment, as well as other types of water processing equipmentPCC1 PCC212PCC218PCC106PCC SERIESCRYSTAL CARTRIDGES502 Indiana Avenue  P.O. Box 1047  Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53082-1047Customer Service: 800-645-0267  Fax: 888-203-7361  supportspecialist@pentekfiltration.comInternational: 920-457-9435  Fax: 920-457-2417  international@pentekfiltration.comฉ 2004 Pentair Water Treatment www.pentekfiltration.com Printed in U.S.A. 01/04 310085PCC SERIESHexametaphosphate Crystal CartridgesCAUTION: Eye irritant. Contains sodium calcium hexametaphosphate. Avoid contact with eyes. In case of eye contact, flush with water for 15 minutes, get medical attention.Keep out of reach of children.WARNING: For drinking water applications, do not use with water that is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality without adequate disinfection before or after the system.NOTE: PCC212 and PCC218 cartridges are not recommended for main line water applications with flow rates exceeding 3.0 gpm (11.4 lpm).NOTE: With steamers, the water should be flushed daily.CAUTION: Do not use this cartridge on water that will be carbonated.Materials of Construction Filter Media Food Grade Polyphosphate Shell Polypropylene Post-filter Polypropylene (PCC212 & 218) Gasket Buna-N (PCC212 & 218) Temperature Rating 40ฐF to 100ฐF (4.4ฐ C to 37.8ฐC)Cartridge Specifications and Performance DataMaximum Initial ΔP (psi)Model Dimensions @ Flow Rate (gpm)PCC1 2-7/8" x 9-5/8" Up to 5 gpm(73 mm x 244 mm) (19 L/min)PCC106 1-1/16" x 5-7/16" 1 to 1.5 gpm(27 mm x 138 mm) (4 to 6 L/min)(for insertion in center core of open core cartridges)PCC212 2-5/8" x 9-3/4" 1 to 1.5 gpm(67 mm x 248 mm) (4 to 6 L/min)PCC218 2-5/8" x 9-3/4" 1.5 to 2.5 gpm(67 mm x 248 mm) (6 to 10 L/min)SCALE: Hardness particles are kept separated so they cannotprecipitate and form deposits when heated. Maximum hardness15 gpg.CORROSION: A protective coating is formed on all metalsurfaces, safeguarding against acidity/alkalinity, hardness,chloride and other factors which effect the corrosion of waterequipment and pipes. pH range 6.5  9.0.IRON: Dissolved iron, up to 1 ppm, is kept suspended insolution (sequestered), preventing dissolved iron fromprecipitating, which would cause staining and discoloration.

The WaterBoss from HD for 400 bucks works amazing it does it with a sand filter I just install one in my house after the 1500.00 so called iron filter won't work first time have had iron free water in years

Tell me more cliff... You use this on the bus? I thought there was a huge amount of backwash with that system?

I had a WaterBoss water softener in my house until it failed. The backwash uses quite of water. I also had problems with dark yellow water after every regeneration that took a lot of water running to get rid of.

I am setting up our bus with 2 filter canisters before the fresh water tank. If we use city water it will run through the filters before going into the bus and if we want we can filter into tank and then through the filters again as it comes out of the tank into the house system. (Double filtered...unnecessary but makes the wifey happy)

We can choose whatever filters we want for the canisters. I have found that there are many different filters out there and choosing the one you need depends on what you are trying to filter. I have also found that it is very near impossible to "soften" water through simple filters only without processing the water.

The best filters we have found for taking nasty water and turning it into drinkable water are the doulton ceramic filters. These are the same as the ones used in the Big Berkey water filter system. The only downfall to these is that they work best at a very slow rate (3gpm or so). These ceramic filters are reuseable and supposedly last for life although they need to be cleaned often. We are going to use a 3rd ceramic filter on a seperate water line for drinking water only that runs to a water dispenser at the kitchen sink.

Rick Dahl from http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/ gave us a bunch of great information about the filters and RO systems. Email him from his website and he will get you some good information about solutions and what is available out there on the market. I have not purchased anything from him and am in no way associated with him or his website. He was very helpful with no sales pitch and no expectation of us purchasing from him.